Milan Soccer School to implement Mariners Pro-Star Program

The Central Coast Mariners are proud to announce the start of a relationship with the Milan Soccer School based in Sydney who will implement a Mariners Pro-Star Program.

The implementation of the Mariners Pro-Star Program will ensure the talent identification of children at the Milan School to act as a pathway into the Mariners 2 Star Academy.

Headed up by former AC Milan player Andrea Icardi, the Milan School ‘Pro-Star’ program will follow the football philosophy of the Central Coast Mariners and help broaden the talent pool of players for the Mariners Academy. Andrea spent 13 years as a player for A.C. Milan and played against the likes of Maradona, Zico and Platini whilst playing alongside Maldini and Baresi in his time at the club.

Mariners ‘Pro-Star’ is an initiative that endorses high quality football programs. The objective of Pro-Star Programs is to provide high standard/specialised coaching for young aspiring footballers.

Specifically, the Mariners/AC Milan program is a collaborative approach aimed to identify, train and prepare the next crop of future A-League stars, with scholarships on offer for the most talented players. This is a new and exciting pathway for young elite players.

Pro-Star Programs operate in addition to club football training, not as a substitute, and those who excel in the Pro-Star environment may be identified and considered for future Mariners’ Academies.

“We’re delighted to be working closer with a great academy like the Milan School,” Phelan said. “Relationships like this allow us to broaden the Mariners’ talent identification network and recruit young aspiring footballers into the Mariners Academy.

“The players being coached by Andrea at the Milan School will be under the watchful eye of the Central Coast Mariners and we’re confident that this is the start of a successful football pathway,” Phelan said.

“I am very pleased to reach an agreement with the Central Coast Mariners,” Icardi said. “It will enable the Milan Academy to recruit talented players and our job is then to train them professionally from a young age to help them improve greatly both technically and tactically ."

“There is a lot of work to do, but I am looking forward to working together and given both Mike Phelan's and my own previous experiences as professional players and coaches in the Italian and English Leagues, we believe by combining the resources of the Milan Academy and the Mariners Academy we will achieve our ultimate objective of creating A-League players of the future,” Icardi said.